3/18/2012: Into Jerusalem
Matthew 21:1-14 1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” 12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them,“‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 1. Confrontational king - all or nothing claims *"don't tell anyone" - messianic secret **until now - the more people talked, the more pressure there was to end his ministry before it was supposed to **2 blind men proclaim Jesus - messianic status *Reason: it wasn't time yet; his ministry needed to run its full course *"Son of David" - Messianic address which Jesus acknowledges *He rides in as a conquering hero *Hosanna - "save us" (Ps. 118) *Jesus @ the temple: "'My '''house" **Jesus is forcing the leaders (and us) to either crown him or kill him (make it an all or nothing proposition) *Humble, but immodest (liar, lunatic, lord) 2. Counter-intuitive king *Parody; satirizes triumphal entries *Comes in in weakness *Comes in on little donkey (instead of a horse) *Implications **About him: Thought they needed someone to ''bring ''judgment on the Romans; Jesus came to ''bear ''judgment for all of us ***Comes to save not by killing, but by dying ***Salvation through weakness **About us: He can frustrate our expectations of what he's supposed to do for us. Gives us what we really need, and not what we think we need. ***Most of us come to God when we need things (the things we ''think we need) ***Gives us what we need, were we to know what He knows **Human celebrity is worth nothing - Jesus exceeds that in the long term ***Crowds celebrating His arrival were later calling for His crucifixion ***John 6:37, 10:27-8, Phil 1:6, Rm. 8:38, Hebrews 13:5, Psalms 27:10 ***Jesus, however, loves to the end ***Jesus loves for eternity; the world loves for an instant 3. Coming king *Shalom - blessedness *Palm branches - Psalms 96 *Looks forward to the day when all is as it should be *Did not have to break the foal - why? Future peace of the kingdom